New York's glass skyscraper ban is not all bad news for the industry

But one story from our neighbours across the pond may have passed many people by.

During a press conference on Earth Day (Monday 22 April) announcing his Green New Deal, the Mayor of New York City Bill de Blasio announced a ban on traditional glass and steel skyscrapers.

Introducing the new measures as part of an effort to reduce the city’s greenhouse emissions by 30% in 2024, rising to 40% by 2030, Mayor de Blasio said: “We have until 2030 to change things fundamentally or our lives won’t be the same.

“Our buildings must be part of the solution not part of the problem. For the first time on Earth, a major city says ‘no more’.

However, while the news might sound bad for glass, this is actually not the case.

De Blasio’s plans aren’t to issue a sweeping ban on all glass skyscrapers in New York; instead the Mayor is cracking down on inefficient buildings, which produce nearly 70% of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions, by implementing building regulation changes.

These changes would ensure the most efficient glazing, such as energy efficient triple glazing, is used as opposed to low efficient glazing that would meet the current building regulations.

As well as this, the new measures work alongside a new set of American Government Bills that were passed earlier in the month responding to targets that were set out in the Paris Climate Agreement.

This Climate Mobilisation Act means that existing buildings over 25,000 square feet, of which there are 50,000 in New York, would need to be retrofitted with new windows, insulation and other utilities to meet the new, stricter carbon emissions guidelines.